bash Cookbook

Setting bash As Your Default Shell

Problem

You’re using a BSD system, Solaris, or some other Unix variant for which bash isn’t the default shell. You’re tired of starting bash explicitly all the time, and want to make bash your default shell.

Solution

First, make sure bash is installed. Try typing bash --version at a command line. If you get a version, it’s installed:

$ bash --version
GNU bash, version 3.00.16(1)-release (i386-pc-solaris2.10)
Copyright (C) 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

If you don’t see a version number, you may be missing a directory from your path. chsh -l or cat /etc/shells may give you a list of valid shells on some systems. Otherwise, ask your system administrator where bash is, or if it can be installed.

chsh -l provides a list of valid shells on Linux, but opens an editor and allows you to change settings on BSD. -l is not a valid option to chsh on Mac OS X, but just running chsh will open an editor to allow you to change settings, and chpass -s shell will change your shell.

If bash is installed, use the chsh -s command to change your default shell. For example, chsh -s /bin/bash. If for any reason that fails try chsh, passwd -e, passwd -l chpass,or usermod -s /usr/bin/bash. If you still can’t change your shell ask your system administrator, who may need to edit the /etc/passwd file. On most systems, /etc/passwd will have lines of the form:

cam:pK1Z9BCJbzCrBNrkjRUdUiTtFOh/:501:100:Cameron Newham:/home/cam:/bin/bash cc:kfDKDjfkeDJKJySFgJFWErrElpe/:502:100:Cheshire ...